Academic burnout among Chinese college students: A study based on FSQCA method

Academic burnout is a common phenomenon among Chinese college students, which can have a negative impact on students' academic performance and even the entire higher education industry. Existing literature has pointed out that the situation of academic burnout among Chinese college students is severe, and the prevalence of academic burnout is worrying. As previous studies on academic burnout among college students analyze the impact of a single factor on academic burnout, which is limited by the combined effect of multiple factors, this article uses FSQCA method to empirically explore how five antecedent conditions (academic stress, academic anxiety, lack of academic self-efficacy, Internet addiction, and loneliness) lead to this phenomenon from configuration perspective. This paper takes 314 college students as research objects, and then conducts a configuration analysis of the five conditions that produce college students' academic burnout based on collected data. The research results indicate that any single condition is not necessary for college students' academic burnout, on the contrary, this paper obtains three configuration paths that give rise to the academic burnout. The first one includes academic stress, academic anxiety, lack of academic self-efficacy and Internet addiction, the second one consists of academic stress, lack of academic self-efficacy, Internet addiction, and loneliness, and the third one contains academic stress, academic anxiety, lack of academic self-efficacy and loneliness. Configuration means that this phenomenon occurs only when conditions in specific configuration work together, such as academic stress, academic anxiety, lack of academic self-efficacy, and Internet addiction in the first configuration. The findings can provide reasonable theoretical explanations for this phenomenon and offer practical references for eliminating or at least reducing it. For instance, in teaching activities and educational settings, it is necessary to reasonably arrange college students' academic tasks such as courses and assignments, provide effective psychological counseling for college students, and guide them to engage in physical exercise in appropriate ways or through the formulation of relevant educational policies, so as to promote students' outstanding completion of studies.